Alford: David Vitter going big for big business - Column

U.S. Sen. David Vitter is the premier butcher for mainline Republican voters in Louisiana, serving up the kind of red meat that keeps the base waiting in line for more. Only Vitter could file a single bill that amalgamates the top conservative issues of the day — last week he introduced legislation that prohibits illegal immigrants from not only participating in the president's health care program, but also from receiving tuition tax credits.

As the 2015 race for governor draws closer, he'll only strengthen his blood-red position, running so far to the right that anyone who attempts to outflank him will fall off the track.

But Vitter, a Harvard grad who has been in elected office for 22 years, knows full well that more ground needs to be covered. That's why, over the past year, Vitter has been increasingly siding with business and industry on issues important to them in Louisiana.

The latest example arrived last week when Vitter told C-SPAN and the Associated Press that he supported Common Core, thus aligning himself with the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, among several other groups and individuals.

"I support the strong standards Louisiana now has in place and think Gov. Jindal's attempt to start from scratch right before the new school year is very disruptive," Vitter told the AP.

Like fellow Rhodes Scholar Jindal, however, Vitter is somewhat new to his position. Shortly after announcing his campaign for governor in January, Vitter sent a fundraising letter to a "select few Louisianans" describing Common Core as "heavy-handed big government education policies."

It's doubtful business and industry cares about his previous interpretation; all that matters now is that Vitter is in their corner.

Union officials in Louisiana are likewise expecting Vitter to make them a target in 2015, and more specifically as governor if he's elected. That would definitely gel with the goals of business and industry.

About a month ago Vitter introduced a bill, the Freedom from Union Violence Act, that would impose hefty penalties when unions use violence to sign up workers. Conservatives on the Hill have been trying to move the measure, in one form or another, unsuccessfully for the past four decades.

If Vitter continues the theme on the campaign trail, state Rep. John Bel Edwards, D-Amite, another candidate for governor, will have to go to the mat for his union friends. Additionally, both Edwards and Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, who has also announced for next year's big race, have taken care over the past couple weeks to point out what they like about Common Core.

That's all to say both men have been outmaneuvered, so far, by Vitter in terms of locking down early support from the special interests that represent business and industry. They're also behind the eight-ball on fundraising. Vitter has the benefit of the Fund for Louisiana's Future, a super PAC that is now raising unlimited sums of money in the state for its chosen candidate. It's a very corporate way of funding a campaign that allows wealthy donors, like CEOs, to dump as much cash as they please into electing Vitter.

With the business community possibly coalescing behind him, the junior senator needs only to convince one more group: Louisiana's rank-and-file voters. Given their love for red meat in recent elections, Vitter, the party's premier butcher, will undoubtedly be ready with a few choice cuts.